(AE Phillips will host a reception Saturday, Sept. 20 at 11 a.m. at the school for those wishing to come see the mural and to share memories of Alex Laney. The reception will include a commemorative keepsake program, Mr. Laney’s famous green punch, and a short address by AEP Principal Jenny Blalock, mural artists Sophie and Ellie Puljak, and project coordinator Malcolm Butler around 11:20 a.m. The public is invited.)
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by Malcolm Butler
For those of us who were fortunate to feel the impact of Mr. Alex Laney’s talent of teaching, we are better for it.
Thought to be the longest tenured teacher in AE Phillips Laboratory School’s wonderful history (1957-1994), Mr. Laney is remembered fondly by his students. His combination of devotion and discipline towards his students helped prepare us for high school and college … and life.
The man possessed the ability to get the very best out of his students while helping us realize our potential to learn and to grow in a time of life where neither was at the forefront of our minds.
Mr. Laney was a man who garnered immediate respect from his students when he walked into the classroom; a man who poured his heart and soul into his profession.
Fountain pens. Poetry. Louisiana history. That plexiglass paddle. Green jacket. Love for Louisiana Tech Athletics and St. Patrick’s Day. Penmanship and cursive writing. That sly grin (and fierce scowl). 8th grade trip to south Louisiana. Famous green punch on St. Patrick’s Day.
These are all things that so many of us remember.
Cheaper by the Dozen. Paul Revere’s Ride. Diary of Anne Frank. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Evangeline.
So many books and poems that none of us were overly excited about reading on the front end, but that we all fondly remember a lifetime later.
Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” may best describe the impact that Mr. Laney had on the students from the 37 classes he taught during his time at A.E. Phillips.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Thank you, Mr. Laney, for “making all the difference” in so many of our lives.
